Review: Sanyo HEC-DR7700K Massage Chair Recliner
If you are looking for a massage chair, then finding relevant information regarding potential shiatsu chair candidates is important. Reviews and evaluations can point out the relevant aspects of each product. To assist potential purchaser researching massage chairs, we evaluate 5 key categories which include Warranty & Customer Service, Comfort/Ergonomics, Ease of Use, Features and Massage Therapy. Each category is worth up to 20 points. All points are added up to give a total score based on the 5 categories. A disciplined, systematic approach takes out bias and presents facts. We review the Luxury range of $4,000 to $5,000 and feature the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K massage chair.
Warranty & Customer Service: It is important that the manufacturer stand behind its product. A good gage of the company’s confidence is its warranty coverage and duration. Sanyo gives a 1 year labor, 1 year parts and 1 year in-home service. It does cover the roller mechanism for 3 years. Sanyo is well below other manufacturers in this category with its parts and labor. Sanyo recently instituted in-home service with the 1 year in-home whereas most are 90 days. Customer service is good. Sanyo has a national hot line with 24/7 service. Turnaround time on service is good. Our Rating in this category is 14.
Comfort & Ergonomics: Massage chair recliners should fit the body and be comfortable to site on. The Sanyo DR7700K is well padded and the chair back comfortable. The detachable head pillow is designed well to support the head. The seat is average to sit in and the armrests are plush. Unfortunately, the footrest cannot be adjusted which limits the chair to shorter individuals. Taller people feel some restriction with the footrest. Overall Rating for Sanyo DR7700K for comfort and ergonomics is 15.
East of Use: With the advance of electronics, the controls and features can just be overwhelming unless you work for NASA or JPL. Sanyo has made the controller fairly simple to use compared to what is out there. There are 4 automatic programs where one can select and just sit back and relax. There is one button to take you to Zero Gravity which is nice. A side panel contains many manual controls with basic controls for the massage techniques and the lower body air system. The sub-remote allows the chair to be raised or lowered and has the stiffness detector built in. Our rating in this category is 19.
Key Features: The important features of the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K are the GK Rollers which is designed to provide over the shoulder massage in a third dimension. The other key feature is the Zero Gravity which takes the weight off you spine. The jointed massage heads of the GK Rollers push out and over the shoulders in a gripping action. Most rollers move in the X and Y coordinates, Sanyo has added the Z coordinate to add a real third dimension to robotic massage. Zero Gravity is a comfortable position with the body weight evenly distributed across the back. Overall Rating for the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K for features is 18.
Massage Therapy: The DR7700K has 4 full body automatic courses, 5 massage speed settings and in a total combination of 83 manual massage courses. The manual massage techniques include the following: Shiatsu, Kneading, Tapping, and Kneading & Tapping. Additionally, because of the GK roller system, Sanyo offers Grip, which is a squeezing sensation. Sanyo incorporates various stretches. The DR7700K massage chair uses 24 airbags with projections that perform a shiatsu massage on the calves and an undulating sole shiatsu massage. There are a wide range of massage capabilities and the GK rollers add a critical third dimension. Our rating in this category is 19.
How does the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K stack up? Overall, our rating of the Panasonic is an 85/100. Sanyo brings some cutting edge technology with their GK Rollers and Zero Gravity into its massage chairs. The design is fairly modern leaning toward minimalist. The controls are fairly well designed and easy to use. Main drawback is the weaker warranty coverage and added expense for an extended warranty as well as the footrest not being adjustable. Otherwise, the Sanyo HEC-DR7700K has solid technology and is fairly effective in delivering relief. Hopefully, Sanyo will design more for the American market and include more ergonomic chairs in the future, but for now the HEC-DR7700K is a solid choice.